Derek Hough Is ‘Absolutely Here’ for Mark Ballas as a Permanent ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Judge (Exclusive)

Derek Hough is very open for Mark Ballas returning as a permanent judge on Dancing With the Stars.

“I’m absolutely here for it,” Hough, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly following week 5 of Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday, October 15. “I think Mark has a lot to offer. He has a lot of wisdom and insight and experience.”

Ballas, who was a pro dancer and three-time Mirrorball champ on DWTS from 2007 to 2022, returned as a guest judge for season 33 of the dance competition series alongside judges Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.

Hough went on to share that Ballas’ mom “happens to be the head judge” of the UK version of DWTS, so he comes from a line of “experts.”

“So I would love it,” he gushed. “We had a great time tonight. And I was honestly taking some notes. You know, he was saying some things, I was like, ‘I like that.’ He’s wonderful.”

Hough himself joined the DWTS judges panel in 2020 after previously performing on the show as a pro dancer from 2007 to 2016.

While Hough is proud of all the celebrities performing this year, he was ready with an answer when Us asked who was the most improved.

“Danny [Amendola].I’m gonna be honest with you — I feared that people would forget him in past weeks,” Hough explained. “But you see how he puts in so much work in the rehearsal time and he’s doing the research. He’s watching videos like you just see it.”

Amendola, 38, who is partnered with Witney Carson, performed a Contemporary to “Unsteady- The Erich Lee Gravity Remix” by X Ambassadors for Dedication Night on Tuesday. The pair went on to score a 36/40 and placed first in the night tying with Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson.

Hough noted that he thought Amendola had a “breakthrough” during Tuesday’s episode.

“It’s people like him who come on the show that have opened up dance to so many other people that might not have been exposed to dance,” he added. “Because they’re like, ‘Look at this Super Bowl champion athlete coming out here dancing and look at what he’s doing. And wow, dance is athletic and it’s difficult and it’s beautiful.’ And he’s really committed.”

While Hough is a judge, he did perform a beautiful dance to Benson Boone’s song “Beautiful Things” with his wife, Hayley Erbert, which marked her first time back in the ballroom since she underwent emergency brain surgery for a cranial hematoma in December 2023.

“It’s always so special to be back in the ballroom but especially tonight after such a crazy year,” Erbert, 30, told Us. “It was just beautiful to feel the energy and from a lot of the people that supported us throughout this entire journey, so I’m just grateful always.”

Tune into Dancing With the Stars season 33 every Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+.

With reporting by Carly Konsker